Device for producing electrolytic metal-plating.



No. 893,814. PATENTBD JULY 21, 1908i A. SCHMITZ. DEVICE FOR PRODUCINGELECTROLYTIC METAL PLATING.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1906.

Zlfitnesses: Inventor:

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ALBERT SGHMIT Z, OF BRUSSELS BELGIUM.

DEVICE FOR PRODUCING ELE CTROLYTIC ME TAL-PLATIN G.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1908.

Application filed March 12, 1906. Serial No. 305,543.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT SoHMrrz, engineer, a subject of the King ofPrussia, residing at Brussels, No. 45 Rue Henri Maus, in the Kingdom ofBelgium, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devicesfor Producing Electrolytic Metal-Plating; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

My present invention relatesto a device for producing electrolyticmetal-plating and the object in view is to make it possible by means ofthis device to employ for the precipitation of the metal electriccurrents, whose intensity is comparatively high in comparison with thesmall sectional area of the cathodes usually employed as returnwires.

One prominent feature of my new device is the use of current collectorsconductively connected with the cathodes within the electrolyte andemployed for conducting the current back to the current generator.

The method to employ the suspending means simultaneously as currentcollectors for the cathodes, as hitherto practised by electrolyticallyplating plates with metals, shows this drawback that after the plateshave been plated, those places covered by the suspending means are leftunplated and thus make it necessary to take theplates out of the bath,re-adjust the suspending means and then expose the plates anew to theinfluence of the current.

My new device permits of the current collectors being used independentof the suspending means while the objects to be plated remain in thebath, so that the suspending means need not be disturbed during thewhole plating-process, and the current collectors can be adjusted onsaid objects independent of the suspending means, without interruptingthe progress of the plating-process.

The present invention further permits the use of current collectors ofany suitable. construction to suit the shape of the cathodes employed,which current collectors are connected on the one hand with the cathodeswithin the electrolyte, and on the other hand with the negative pole ofthe current generator.

the bath and then'connect these rollers with the negative pole of thecurrent generator. I i

To use strong currents would in this case be accompanied by thedisadvantage, that the wire, whose cross sectional area is generallyvery small in comparison with the intensity of the current, would beheated to such a degree on leaving the electrolyte, or even when stillin the bath if especially strong currents were employed, that itsphysical properties would be very considerably affected and the qualityas well as the appearance of the zincplating disadvantageouslyinfluenced.

In the accompanying drawing :-Figure l is a diagrammatic representationof a wire zincing-bath. Fig. 21s a diagrammatic arrangement of a currentcollecting disk and a guide-roller guiding a wire. Fig. 3 is acrosssectional view of a current collecting disk and a wire guidedthereby. Fig. 4 is a plan view of two current collecting disks arrangedon opposite sides of the same wire. Fig. 5 is a similar arrangement of aplurality of current collecting disks and anodes in the same bath. Fig.6 is a side view of current collectors having the shape of contact-bows.Fig. 7, is a transverse-sectional view of,.a bath showing thearrangement of shields interposed between the current collector and theanodes. Fig. 8 is an elevation of a part of an anode incased in acovering of pervious material.

Within the bath 1 and outside thereof guide-rollers 2 of non-conductivematerial are arranged, by means of which the wire 3 is guided throughthe electrolyte. A rod 4 is arranged by way'of example over the bath 1and connected with the negative pole of a current generator (not shown).To this rod the current collectors 5, 6 are attached, whose contact withthe cathode may be either a sliding one, as that of the collector 5, ora rolling one, as that of the collector 6 in. Fi 1. instead of using arod 4 the current collectors for a plurality of wires, plates or thelike arranged side by side in the same bath may be adjustably arrangedupon a common frame.

It is evident that the guide-rollers 2 arranged within the electrolyteand outside thereof may be employed as current collectors by makin themof conducting material and connect t e ends of their shafts lyingoutside of the electrolyte with the negative pole of a currentgenerator.

The use of currents of a high intensity for electrolytically platingwire with metal precipitates ofi ers the advanta e, that the wire can bedrawn through the ath at a higher s eed than otherwise and at the sametime a t 'cker precipitate obtained. This advantage is only then fullywarranted, when the current collectors, over which the wire passes, arebrought into close contact with the wire without impeding the movementof the lat ter by an undue resistance without mechanically damaging themetal precipitate already .formed; and finally without allowing the wireto leave the current collectors from time to time, as at such moments ofinterruption, generally caused by the oscillating motions of the wire,sparking takes place which will at least partly damage the metallicplating. To satisfy these conditions a number of devices may bedesigned, the principle of which is explained below. The preferreddevices for conducting the wire through the bath are of course rollersor disks, as these offer the least resistance.

As the contact between a roller or disk and the stretched wiretheoreticallycan only take place on a generating-line, the possibilityexists that the resistance ofiered to the passa e of the current willprove too great,

' possible that the contact between the disk 7 and the wire 3 is thusmade more intimate and at the same time the wire is prevented fromleaving the circumference of the disk 7 so long as it is drawn in one ofthe two longitudinal directions. The possibility of the wire beingdiverted from its straight path by the guide-rollers 8 need not beconsidered when baror plate-shaped anodes A are arranged on both sidesof the wire 3, as the wire in spite of this remains under the sameinfluence of the anodes.

The high intensity of the current causes the Wire uniformly plated evenon those sides which are not opposed by anodes, that is on the up er andunder sides. The plating on these ast named sides will'however beslightly thinner if the anodes are arranged to the right and'l'ef't ofsaid wire and the danger exists, that just these thinner plated partsare worn by the current collectors and guiderollers acting on the wirein a Vertical plane, thus tending to increase the diflerence in thethickness of the plating. To avoid this drawback, the current collectingdisks and. the guide-rollers might be arranged horizontally, whicharrangement is however not advisable, as then the current collectingdisks would have to be arranged beneath the surface of the electrolyteand hence become wholly plated and then draw on the ener y of the plant.To avoid this prejudicial e 'ect, the insertion of protecting shields 12of wood, glass, porcelain, vulcanized caoutchouc, slate or the likebetween the disks and anodes, as shown in Fig. 7, or the interruption ofthe anodes in the vicinity of these disks is becoming necessary, asindicated in Fig. 5.

In order to let only a small portion of the current collecting disksremain below the 7 surface of the electrolyte, disks as shown in J 1Fig. 3 in vertical sectional view, and in Fig. 4 in plan view may beemployed. These disks 9 and 10 are mounted upon horizontal shafts 13and. provided with lateral grooves by means of which the wire placedtherein is only touched at one side, but not at the top. For the safeguidance of the wire two of these disks are placed one behind the other,but on different sides of the Wire, as shown in Fig. 4, where the disk 9presses the wire 3 downward and to the right, whereas the disk 10presses it downward and to the left and thus prevent the wire fromleaving the disks. In this manner an intimate contact between thecurrent collectors and the wire is obtained, the detrimental sparkingprevented, and the wire protected where its plating is thinnest. Asthese disks do not dip too deep into the electrolyte they do not absorbmuch,energy, even when no shields 12 are laced between them and theanodes. The orizontal shafts 13 offer this advantage, that in devicesfor galvanically plating several wires simultaneously, the currentcollecting disks and the guide-rollers arranged side by side may belaced on their respective shafts, whereby the general arrangement isconsiderably sim lified. The anodes A can for this reason lieinterruptedat these shafts, as shown in Fig. 5', whereby not only room forjournaling them is gained, but also the detrimental electrolytic platingof the rollers is avoided, as already pointed out above..

To protect the weaker parts of the plating,

current collectors of the kind shown in Fig. 6 may be employed. Thecurrent collectors shown there have the shape ofcontact bows 1 1 whichtouch the sides of the wire where the plating is thickest. To obtain abetter guidance of the wire these current collectors are likewisearranged in pairs and on different sides of the wire. a

The good guidance of the wire provided by. the devices described abovepermits of a decrease in the distance between the electrodes being made,as through the instrumentality of the uiding devices short circuits arepractically out of question. But to be on the safe side, the anodes maybe covered with jute or another pervious material, as shown in Fig. 8. v

To shortly recapitulate,-the described devices per;nitthe use of asuitable bath taken for granted-the employment of a far higher intensityof current than hitherto has been customary in wire plating, as throughthe sub-division, of the wire by means of a row of current collectorsthe ohmic resistance of the wire seems to be diminished; the resistanceto the motion of the wire is re duced, so that the speed with which thewire passed through the bath can be increased, as it need not be fearedthat through the lateral motions of the wire short circuits willbecaused. The ohmic resistance to the current while assing 'from the wireto the collectors is ikewise reduced without doing damage to the formedmetal-precipitate, and finally losses of energy, caused by the galvanicplating of the current collectors, are avoided.

I claim:

1. A device adapted for plating continuous objects comprisin a bath,current collecting means conductive y related to the continuous objectsto be plated within the electrolyte of said bath, guide rollers withinsaid bath to keep said continuous objects in intimate contact with saidcurrent collecting means, means connecting said current collecting meansadjustably with the negative pole of a current generator, and anodesarranged in said bath sidewise of said continuous 0b-' jects to beplated.

2. In a device adapted for plating contin- "uous objects the combinationof a diskof one of said diskshaped current collector arran ed in avertical plane and rovided with a laterally concave-grooved an econtacting with one side of one of said continuous objects to be plated,

and double flanged guide-r0 lers keeping said disk-shaped currentcollector in contact with one of said continuous ob'ects to be plated. I3. In a device ada te for plating continuous objects the com ination ofdisk-sha ed current collectors each provided with a aterallyconcave-grooved flange and arranged on opposite'sides of one of thecontinuous obj ects to be plated to press the latter by means s apedcurrent collectors downward and to theright, and by means of the otherdownward and to the left, and double-flanged guide-rollers keeping saiddisk-shaped current .collectors in contact uous objects the combinationof dis -shaped' collectors arranged in pairs to let in every one of saidpairs independent of the other pairs onecurrent collector contact withthe one side of one of said objects to be plated and the other currentcollector of thesame pair with the o posite side of the same object tobe plated, orizontally arranged shafts conductively connected with thenegative pole of a current generator of which shafts one is carrying allthe current collectors pressing a ainst the left sides of said objectsto be ated and the other shaft all the current colliectors pressingagainst the right sides of said objects to be plated, and anodesarranged sidewise of said objects to be plated where the latter are notin contact withsaid current collectors.

5. In a device ada ted for platin continuous objects the com ination ofdis -shaped current collectors conductively related to the objects to beplated and arranged in pairs to let in every one of said pairsindependent of the other pairs one current collector contact with theone side of one of said objects to be plated and the other currentcollector of the same pair with the op osite side of the same object tobe plated, orizontally arranged shafts conductlvely connected with thene ative pole of a current generator of whlch shafts one is carrying allthe current collectors pressing against the left sides of said objectsto be lated and the other shaft all the current co ectors pressingagainst the right sides of the objects to be lated, anodesarrangedsidewise of said ob ects to be plated, and shields ofnon-conductive and impervious material placed between said anodes andsaid rotary current collectors to prevent the latter from becoming metalplated.

I 6. In a device ada ted for plating continuous objects the com inationof rotary diskshaped current collectors conductivel related tothecontinuous objects to be p ated, horizontally arranged shaftsconductively connected with the negative ole of a current generator andcarrying sai current collectors, anodes arranged sidewise of saidobjects to be plated, and a non-conductive but pervious covering on saidanodes to prevent the formation of short circuits.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALBERT SCHMITZ.

